Metal rail-tie



J.. K. WEDGWORTH.

METAL HAIL TIE.v APPLICATION man rgsjhgiezr.

WOW 04a 0 lUinrrezo sr fr reifen-'r OFFICE 'JOHN KnLL-Ywnnewon'rn, crimine, nLiiBAMA. y

AMETAL Rain-Tin. f f' To aZZ whom it may concern.'

VBe it known tliat"I,'Jofi^iN II. Iliinnewonrri, a citizen orp the United States, residing` at Cuba, inthe countyof Sumter and State' oi' Alabama, have invented certain new and usc- :Eul Improvementsinll/Ietal vRail-Ties; and

I do declare the following to be a full, clear,v and exact description of the invention, such-V as will enable others skilled in the vart towhich it appertains tojrnake and use the same. I

This invention relates to anv improved metal rail tie'which is designed to take the place of the'ordinary wooden ties now used.

The principal object of the invention is to generally improve upon devices of this class by the provision of lone of eXtreme simplicity and durability which embodies novel clampsror jaws for engaging the rail base flange and novel means ,for retaining the clamps `in effect-ive engagement with they rails.v Y

Another object of the invention is toV provide a tie embodying a box-like body in which the aforesaid clamping jaws are slidable, there beingarranged in this boXiiovel adjustable retaining 'rods for the clamping jaws, the end rods being coperativewith the adjacent jaws and the intermediate rods cooperative with theV remaining jaws, all of said rods being easily-and quickly removable to effect an adjustment whereby the grip orv the jaws on'tlie'rails may be lt ightened or loosened when the rods are replaced.'

The foregoing and other' features andad-l vantages of the invention will be apparent during the course of the tollowing descrip- In the accompanying drawings forming-a part of this specification and in which like numerals are employed to designate likeV parts throughout the same:

VFiiire l is a toa lan view ofla tie cone v l v the same being shown in use.

Fig. 2 is a `central longitudinal vertical sectional view ytaken through the tie on theV opposite ends a sectional view taken specification of Lene-feraient. f Paeentede, 13,:.192L y `.application mea February 7, 192i. serial nojnraess. i' i posed sides'fwith inturnedflanges 2 Vin-which `Y the'irails rest. Arranged inthe tie and slid.-

der the'weight ofthe railsandpassing trains.

Each clampingjaw is' provided in its inner facenear its upper endw'ith .a recess 6 for reception of the adjacent e'dgeof the rail base' as shown in the drawings, the reduced upper inwardly' curved endV 7. extending abovetlieflanges 2 and engaging the upper face of the rail base. j

Asbeifore intimated, I make `use ol' anovel means for moving the awsin engagement with the railsand .retaining them insuch position. rIvhe means by preference consists or" a pair of relatively'shortrods 8 which are designed to coperatie with the'outer jawsl and a'pair of relativelyU long `pivota'lly connected'rcds') adapted to co-actwith the 'remaining jaws.. The first named "rods are provided atftheirouter ends with ',lshapedV rods Sjaredetachable members 14C .provided L with T-shaped heads receivable'in the y.adj a-f centcorrespondingly shaped seats orpockets l5V inthe, outer jaws. Now byrelerring 'tov the longer rods 9, itwillbe seen that thesev rods, like: the rods v8, are provided yatt-heirouter ends with the detachable members lll' having heads-removably received in the cor respondingly shaped seats l5 inthe adjacent :or inner clamping jaws. However, at theirV quick detachable. knuckle structed in accordance vwith this rl invention, ,joint l'is provided.v It will be seen that this construction provides a toggle which, when its inner lends are' `forced below acertain horizontal line', will force the jaws with which they coact into tightengagementwith the rail base flanges.

vWvith the foregoing construction, lit will ioo be seen lthat if the jaws 4should become loose'f'they may 'be'moved closer together and in turn brought into tighter engagement with the rails .by removing the rods 8 and 9 and properly. adjusting these -rods,. or

s better say, vadjusting the members 14' which the rods carry. Toeffect an adjustment of these headed members on the rods 8, this may be done by engaging a suitable instrument with the hooks 13 of the plates V12 and exerting an upward pull so as to remove the rods 8. In actual practice, I have found that the toggle rod 9 can be more easily removed and I may suggest that these rods will be removed first. However, just the reverse is true in replacing the rods.- That is, it will be found better to place the rods 8 in positionV before placing the remaining reds 9 in position. vBy having all of the rods adjustable, considerable vmovement of the jaws may be obtained to accommodate rails which are spaced far apart or close together. It is understood, that before the inner jaws are moved to operative position, the rods 9 are inclined upwardly at. their inner ends, that is, the knuckle joint 16 is at a higher position than shown in the drawing and inv order to effect the proper clamping actionof the inner jaws it is only necessary to force this knuckle joint downwardly into engagement with the bottom of the tie. At this point, I again direct attention to the fact that the inwardly directed flanges 2 of the tiel serveV as seats for the rails and the shoulders 5 of the clamping jaws serve in turn as supportsvfor these flanges. This construction and arrangement is novel and obviates the necessity of employing special supporting means for the rails.

A careful consideration of the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings is thought to be sufficient to enablespersons skilled in the art to which the invention relates, to' obtain a clear understanding of the same. Therefore, a more detailed and lengthy description is deemed unnecessary.

Since the same results accomplished by this invention may be carried out in other ways, I do not desireto be limited to the exact construction and arrangement herein shown and described,yand` I wish it to be understood that various minor changes in the shape, size, and arrangement of parts may be resorted to so long as they do not depart from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

n I claim:

1. A device of the class` described comprising atie including spaced vertical walls, rails supported by Aand crossing said rtie at right angles, inner and outer clamping aws slidable between said walls and engaging the opposite sides of the rails, said inner jaws being equipped with seats, a toggle arranged between said inner jaws and having its opposite ends removably received equipped with T-shaped heads removably received'in the seats in said inner jaws.

3. A device of the class described comprising a box-like tie, rails supported thereby, clamping jaws engaged with the outer edges ofv the base flanges of said rails,

being provided with seats, removable plates restingagainst the ends of said tie and provided in their inner faces with seats, adjustable rods disposed between the clamping jaws and plates and having their ends received in said seats. Y

4. The structure specified in claim 3, said plates being provided with hooks at their upper ends, and said rods being formed at one end with T-shaped heads receivable in the seats of said plates and being equipped at their opposite ends with [detachable headed members removably receivedfin the seats of said clamping jaws.

5. A device of the class described comprising a box-like tie, rails disposed in spaced relationship and resting onl the 'tie and crossing it at right angles, pairs of clamping jaws slidably disposed in said tie between the sides and engageable with the opposite sides of the base flanges of said rails, each of said jaws being provided with a recess, removableabutment's arranged in said tie and bearing aga-inst the closed ends thereof, said abutments being formed in their inner faces with seats, a pair of rela-l tively short adjustable rods arranged between the outer jaws of each pair and said abutments, said rods being formed at their opposite ,ends with heads removably received in said recesses and seats, and av pair of relatively long adjustable `rods Aarranged between the inner jaws of eachpair having heads received in the recesses therein and having their inner ends connected by a 

